


Ensnared

by RK_Anon (Rochelle_Templer)



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe, I'm sorry this one is rather sad, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), M/M, What-If, but it's also angst with a thin coating of romantic fluff, but the ending can be taken in more than one way, not sure which to call it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 00:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19983193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rochelle_Templer/pseuds/RK_Anon
Summary: What if it wasn’t as simple as Crowley convincing Aziraphale to run away with him to Alpha Centauri? What if when God made Aziraphale the Guardian of the Eastern Gate, She also bound him to Earth so he could never abandon his duties? He could still travel to Heaven or Hell, but he could never exist in any other place physically aside from Earth.So, imagine if Crowley had actually persuaded Aziraphale to at least look at Alpha Centauri to see what he thought of it. Crowley would navigate them through the stars, remembering his role in creating them.And when they arrive, Crowley finds a planet like Earth. And it’s beautiful, reminding him of Eden in a wonderful, alien way.But then Crowley turns around and is horrified to see that his angel has collapsed.And he isn’t moving.





	Ensnared

**Author's Note:**

> This was based off a Tumblr musing I posted on my sideblog about how things might have gone if Aziraphale had taken Crowley up on his offer to run away before the Apocalypse. 
> 
> So think of it as an AU or a What If moment from toward the end of Episode Three.

_“It’s a big universe. Even if all this ends up in a puddle of burning goo, we could go off together.”_

_“Go off together?”_

Crowley held his breath, not that that meant much to a demon.

Aziraphale could be infuriatingly stubborn at times. Especially when it _really_ mattered. It was as if Divine Will blinded him to truths right in front of his face. But Crowley also knew the angel well enough to know when Aziraphale was opening himself up to wavering.

And just now, it had been there in Aziraphale’s voice. This was Crowley’s one chance. _He could **not** screw this up._

He walked back toward the angel, his movements deliberate yet gentle, his hands held out.

“Just...come with me. Just for a moment. Let me show you what it’s like out there, and then we can come right back, if you want to. Please, angel.”

Crowley made sure to keep his voice soft as he approached. It was like trying to not startle a dove into flying away. Which was, in essence, what he was doing. Eventually, he was standing face to face with Aziraphale. The angel was looking up at him with hope shining in his eyes. Hope mixed with disbelief. Probably disbelief that someone would offer this to him.

This made Crowley angrier than he had ever been, and it took every ounce of willpower he had to keep his rage hidden. Anger could so easily be misread. And that was something he could not afford right now.

Acting on what he hoped were good instincts, Crowley dared to reach down and take one of Aziraphale’s hands into his. The angel flinched slightly, but did not pull his hand away. Instead, he curled his fingers around Crowley’s.

“Crowley…” he breathed.

Meanwhile, Crowley was struggling to remember what words were for. The feel of that soft, warm hand in his was shoving knowledge right out of his mind.

Hoping that movement would re-activate some of his brain cells, he guided Aziraphale out from underneath the bandstand. The angel still hadn’t let go of his hand, and the fingers were shaking. Crowley recognized the gesture. He’d seen it first-hand in countries that were stricken by famine. He had memories of people clutching brittle crusts of bread with both fear and reverence.

And this is what Aziraphale was doing. The angel was starving for even the smallest crumbs of tenderness toward him and was terrified that he was reading what was happening between them all wrong.

It was then that Crowley realized that he had been wrong. _This_ made even more furious than he had been a few seconds ago.

_‘Oh angel, why do you let them do this to you? You’re a being of love. And those bastards in Heaven sneer at you, hoping you’ll wither away alone while they bask in Grace.’_

_‘They don’t deserve your sacrifices.’_

_‘They never did.’_

Once they were out in the open, Crowley whipped the sunglasses off his face while letting his wings unfurl. He jammed them into a pocket while he watched Aziraphale respond by releasing his own snow-white wings.

“Just hold onto me,” Crowley said. “And I’ll navigate. Ready?”

Aziraphale nodded, and Crowley was rewarded by a small, yet sweet smile. The demon made sure to look away so that he could concentrate on where they were going. Then with a steadying huff, he took off into the sky, Aziraphale rising alongside him.

They climbed hundreds of feet into the air before their speed increased and altered. It stopped being flight and became transference. An angel and a demon ceased to exist in the way that matter on Earth normally did. Their bodies morphed and changed as they sped out from the solar system.

Throughout this, Crowley beamed. Well, as much as one could beam while zipping across the universe as a form of energy. Stars that he had helped build sped by the same way headlights streaked beside him on the road while driving his Bentley. They brought back memories of a time when his purpose was to create, not destroy.

Eventually, he found his target and aimed for it, still aware of the angel’s hold on him.

In the blink of an eye, the journey was over. They were on a planet near the center of Alpha Centauri. Twin suns were setting down on a horizon that was a cool ripple of purple and green foliage. Crowley’s mind immediately pondered what it would be like to try to cultivate some of those plants.

“Look at it, angel,” Crowley said, raising his hands to the sky. “Look at those flowers over there. And humans think the most beautiful garden ever was Eden. If they could see this, they’d….”

Crowley suddenly stopped. It took a full second to realize what was bothering him, but once he did, a shiver went through him.

He had finally noticed that Aziraphale was no longer holding his hand. And that the angel hadn’t made a sound since they had arrived.

Crowley whirled around, his heart dropping. Aziraphale had made it here and was only a few feet away. But the angel was a crumpled heap on the ground. An _unmoving_ heap.

Something like a squeak erupted from Crowley’s throat as he rushed over and knelt beside Aziraphale’s still form. The angel’s skin was cold, his face covered with a grey-blue pallor.

“Angel?” He grabbed Aziraphale’s arm and shook. Hard. When that didn’t work, Crowley persisted, shaking and patting Aziraphale’s face over and over. But there wasn’t even a twitch.

“Angel, what’s wrong? Wake up. Bless it, Aziraphale, wake up!”

The angel still did not respond other than to grow colder to the touch. Apparently, Aziraphale wasn’t even aware enough of his corporal form to be concerned with breathing or letting his heart beat.

Crowley, on the other hand, felt his own heart constricting, the life being squeezed out of it. Aziraphale was dying. That much was certain. Whether it was simply discorporation or actual celestial death, he couldn’t tell. And he wasn’t going to risk it either way.

Crowley reached down and gathered Aziraphale into his arms, his heart receiving another jolt of pain when the angel still did not show any signs of life. His mind had formed a hunch. A desperate hunch to be sure, but the only thing he had at the moment to stop himself from unraveling.

_‘I just need to get you back to Earth. You were ok when we were there. So hang on, angel, all right? I’ll get you back. I promise.’_

Crowley tightened his hold and took a deep breath. In a flash, his wings were out again and he moved, pushing himself to the limits of his brain’s ability to hold onto the memory of his and Aziraphale’s physical bodies. He longed to go faster, but he was already feeling the strain of keeping himself and Aziraphale together.

_‘Please, Aziraphale…please you have to…I can’t….’_

_‘Please….’_

In barely enough time for a star to twinkle, the two of them were back under the abandoned bandstand. Thankfully, the park was still empty, so no one was there to witness a demon folding his wings away while cradling an angel in his arms.

Crowley blinked hard and fast, his breaths catching in his throat as he waited to see if Aziraphale was still fading away.

Those breaths finally came out in quaking gasps as he watched the color return to the angel’s face, and Aziraphale’s chest begin to move again. Crowley wanted to tell him to open his eyes, but he was afraid his voice would crack the moment he attempted a single word.

Blue eyes finally appeared from behind barely open eyelids while Aziraphale’s mouth fell open with a groan.

“Dear…what…where…?”

A laugh, genuine, but still strangled came out of Crowley as he helped Aziraphale sit up.

“We’re back on Earth, angel. How are you feeling?”

Aziraphale’s brow creased as he contemplated that question. He remained silent while folding his wings away and rubbing his face. Crowley continued to keep an arm wrapped around the angel’s waist, hoping that would be enough to steady his own nerves.

“We were in Alpha Centauri, weren’t we? Why did we…?”

A look of horror suddenly appeared in Aziraphale’s eyes, his lips parting. The dread that Crowley was just starting to let go of came back in full force.

“Angel? What is it?”

“That…that is what he meant,” Aziraphale mumbled. Eyes full of regret and apology turned toward Crowley, and the demon was certain that he didn’t want to hear whatever was coming next.

“Gabriel mentioned a long time ago that Heaven’s agents can never abandon Earth once they are assigned there,” Aziraphale continued. “I don’t know why he told me that. It wasn’t as if I’d expressed any desire to leave. But I…I’m sorry, Crowley. I don’t think I can go anywhere else. Other than to the celestial plane. And well…you know what the choices are there.”

Crowley nodded. Heaven or Hell. Those were the only other two options. Neither of which had any room for an angel and a demon to stay together.

Aziraphale nodded slowly in return, his eyes downcast. Crowley knew that he could go back to Alpha Centauri or anywhere else in the universe he fancied, but there was no escape for Aziraphale. If the Apocalypse wasn’t stopped, the angel would have to either fight or die. Or fight and then die anyway. Crowley doubted that the armies of Heaven would care which outcome actually occurred.

Fresh rage burned Crowley from within. How could She do this to Aziraphale? Hadn’t he done enough for Her? Why couldn’t She give him even the smallest amount of mercy?

“I’m sorry.”

Crowley blinked and then turned his attention back to Aziraphale. The angel looked even more desolate than before. And the worst of it was that only part of that grief was due to being trapped on Earth.

The other part was most likely regret over disappointing someone yet again.

Crowley reached over and took Aziraphale’s hand, forcing himself to smile while stroking his thumb over the angel’s palm.

“It’s all right, angel. Where’s the fun in wandering around the galaxy when you have to do it alone? And where would I put the Bentley in a place like that? And…and the plants. I can’t leave my plants here. They’d never behave on their own.”

Aziraphale looked up, a smile twisted by unshed tears on his lips. Crowley scooted closer, slinging his other arm around Aziraphale’s shoulders.

“We’ll fix this, right? There’s got to be something we can do. Something we haven’t thought of. We just have to think.”

The peal of trumpets caused both of them to look upward. Once it had dissipated, they went back to looking into each other’s eyes, panic mirrored on their faces. That was the sound of the Antichrist setting things into motion. The Apocalypse was beginning.

Aziraphale’s lower lip quavered. “Crowley…you have to….”

Crowley clenched his jaw and gave Aziraphale’s hand a firm squeeze.

“I’m not leaving, angel. Whatever happens…I’m in it to the end.”

Aziraphale opened his mouth, probably to protest, but apparently had a sudden change of heart because he ended up just nodding instead. Then he leaned against Crowley, resting his forehead against the demon’s shoulder.

Crowley tilted his head so he could press his cheek into those white curls. The chances of them getting out of this intact were next to nothing. But he reasoned that that was still ok.

They were together. Live or die, they would do it together. That was the only thing that mattered.


End file.
